Atlanta Botanical Gardens: The Cellphone Photos

Heliamphora Display

I celebrated May Day weekend by taking a trip down to Atlanta where I visited the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. I last visited the Atlanta Botanical Gardens a little more than a decade ago. It was an amazing experience. I recall seeing a giant field of Sarracenia along with highland and lowland growing areas. I distinctly recall (and still have a photo of) one of several large Nepenthes lowiis producing upper pitchers and a gigantic Nepenthes bicalcarata. There were also a few other, amazing plants that stand out in my memory.

Heliamphora

I do not recall the gigantic Heliamphora display or the epiphytic Utricularia or the couple of Pings which I saw on this visit. The display with the Helis was absolutely stunning, and something that I'd love to recreate at home. It was definitely the highlight of the display. (I'll have better photos later, once the photos on the good camera are sorted through. The ones here are just from my cellphone).

Highlanders among Rhododendrons from Mount Kinabalu

Around the corner is the highland Nepenthes display. It was less impressive than I remember. Certainly, the Nepenthes lowii x ventricosa which had spread up through the Rhododendrons and a few of the other plants were very nice, but the garden appeared to be lacking any large Nepenthes lowiis or large rajahs or other large species which I remembered or which had been previously noted as being present.

Nepenthes aristolochioides

Indeed, the Nepenthes aristolochioides which I was looking forward to seeing appeared to either have been cut back significantly from a couple years ago or a new plant with a short vine and a single pitcher. It was quite disappointing.

Nepenthes adrianii

The majority of the highland Nepenthes collection was actually potted up in these plastic net pots filled with severely degraded media and suspended along two metal lines stretching across the top of the greenhouse. A number of plants were dead. Most looked to be species obtained from BE's releases over the past five or so years.

Nepenthes bongso

If I lived in or near Atlanta, I'd certainly volunteer to help them maintain their collection. As a visitor, it was a disappointing to see the lines of neglected plants, especially when it was clear from the few that were doing well that ABG had some neat species - N. jacquelineae, N. spectabilis, N. spathulata, etc. 

Nepenthes burbidgeae

That said, the "Mount Kinabalu" display was still quite incredible. This Nepenthes burbidgeae was definitely one of the highlights. (Happily, I just got my own seed-grown specimen this week which is just as big. So that really thrilled me).

Nepenthes fusca group

The Nepenthes fusca group was also another highlight. This was one of ABG's largest highlanders and quite incredible with its small, delicate uppers. The intricacy of the peristome striping was quite incredible. I really enjoyed the contrast of that striping with the blotching of the pitcher body.

Nepenthes alata group

There were other large, vining Nepenthes which were also very neat. Most were Nepenthes maxima forms, but a few, like this one, were something else entirely.

Nepenthes maxima "Wavy Leaf"

I was pleased to see that the Nepenthes collection still spilled out into a small rotunda. There, a number of intermediates grew in large wooden orchid baskets. Many, such as this Nepenthes maxima "Wavy Leaf" were quite large. (I am hopeful mine will be this large one day).

Nepenthes alata group

The little rotunda did serve as a good example of one of the problems I ran into during this trip to Atlanta Botanical Gardens. Many plants were obviously mislabeled, such as this member of the Nepenthes alata group, and many others were not labeled or appeared to have been potted in pots in which the labels for former occupants were not removed. So, I've been spending a bit of time trying to get IDs on some neat plants since I returned home.

Nepenthes ampullaria upper (?)
(It doesn't look right, but I traced it to a vine with a cluster of Nepenthes ampullaria lower pitchers)

The lowland Nepenthes area consisted of fewer plants. There was a large collection of Nepenthes ampullaria. It appeared, actually, the the collection of N. ampullaria started out as a single plant which spread out over time and now consisted of a series of clusters of pitchers on the ground as well as a series of large vines stretching up into the ceiling.

Nepenthes truncata

The highlight of the lowlanders had to be the large Nepenthes truncata which was just opposite the Nepenthes ampullaria. I was hoping it would be the bicalcarata which is featured prominently in promotional materials on ABG's website and which I saw on my last visit. Sadly, I couldn't find a trace of it anywhere.

Sarracenia Propagation Greenhouse

Speaking of things I couldn't find a trace of, the Sarracenia collection both outside the greenhouses and in the children's area is under construction until next year, so neither had any carnivores. Of course, ABG is famous for Sarracenia and I had called in advance to find out the best time to see them in bloom, so I was incredibly disappointed that the best look I got at them was through the window of the propagation greenhouse. The one worker I could find near this greenhouse reported that a majority of their Sarracenia had been transported down to their new facility in Gainesville, Florida and that was now the place to go for Sarracenia. Obviously, this was an incredible disappointment since I had hoped to recreate one of my favorite photographs in a much better resolution.